Mercedes reintroduce new car for Schumacher

The introduction of a radically-revamped Mercedes car at the approaching Spanish GP has been depict as a make-or-break lifeline for Michael Schumacher in his second personification as a F1 driver. The restore contain a substantial aerodynamic upgrade and a considerably longer wheelbase. The effect of this will be to provide greater front-end grip and, it is hoped, will help dial out the understeer that has so severely hindered Schumacher in the first four races of his go again to the sport.

Even as the official line from Mercedes is that the new car is being introduced to rectify a weight distribution imbalance – “We got the weight distribution wrong. When we got to test these tyres we realised we didn’t have the correct weight distribution and we went to the limit with what we could achieve with this car” team boss Ross Brawn has said to Autosport – the revamp has inevitably been depicted as a make-or-break attempt to cure Schumacher’s all-too evident struggles.

Schumi needs a car that change direction piercingly, which has so far attested elusive with the Mercedes. His effort at creating that artificially has worsened his problems, if the observations of a former F1 technical director are accurate: “Michael always liked a car with a positive turn-in. He was at his fastest with no understeer. If a car inherently understeers then you can only get it balanced by artificially degrading the rear grip. This means less overall grip and Michael’s car in Shanghai had visibly awful traction, making me suspect that he has screwed up the rear just to try and get it to turn in.”